DOZENS of firefighters descended on an industrial estate after a “severe” fire broke out at one of the units.

Crews battled to bring the large blaze under control at the Plating Centre at the Holton Heath Trading Park near Wareham yesterday.

Employees had to be evacuated at neighbouring premises.

No-one was injured in the fire.

Residents reported seeing smoke from as far as Poole train station just after 7.30am.

Julian Lockwood, station manager, said the service was notified by the occupiers and sent crews from Poole, Wareham, Westbourne and Swanage – around 40 firefighters altogether – as well as water carriers and the aerial ladder platform.

“We had quite a severe fire in the rear of the premises,” he said. “Everyone was  evacuated before our arrival and no one was injured.”

He said that crews would remain on site for at least a couple of hours while the cause of the fire was investigated.

Officers later confirmed that the fire was not started deliberately and was caused as a result of a heating element having overheated and becoming alight. A large hole was left in the roof of the building as a result of the blaze.

Large plumes of thick black smoke were seen from across the industrial estate,  billowing from the large unit’s doors and through the roof.

A small cordon was manned by police at Holton Road while firefighters worked to  tackle the fire.

Employees from neighbouring Heatric were evacuated just after 7.30am.

An unnamed spokesman said that smoke was drifting into their buildings and they were told to leave as a precaution while firefighters worked to bring the flames under control.

Mike Hughes, owner of neighbouring business Go Solent Motorhomes, said he saw a lot of smoke when he turned up for work at 8am.

He said: “I heard all the alarms and soon saw two people come out of the building and there was black smoke coming out of the main front door. It was very intense. I took everything out of my building because of the wind.”

The company’s owner, said yesterday morning he had been led to believe it was an electrical fire but had not yet been given a time as to when he would be able to re-enter the property.

It is not yet clear when the business will re-open.